State Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, and Democratic rival Susan Zimet of New Paltz listen to a speaker after their debate Monday evening at Ulster County Democratic Headquarters on John Street in Kingston.
Ariel Zangla - Daily Freeman

KINGSTON >> Democrats should be focused on re-electing their freshmen state senators and electing a party member to represent the 19th Congressional District rather than on a primary race in the 103rd Assembly District, state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill told party faithful Monday.

New Paltz town Supervisor Susan Zimet, who is challenging Cahill for the Democratic nomination in November’s election, said the primary gives voters a choice and energizes the voting base. At the end of the day, she said, Democrats will work together to get their chosen candidates elected.

The two candidates faced off in a debate before the Ulster County Democratic Women on Monday night at the party headquarters on John Street in Uptown Kingston. Cahill, a former Ulster County legislator, served in the Assembly in the 1993-94 term before losing his seat, then returning to the chamber in 1999. Zimet served as New Paltz town supervisor from 1996 to 1999 and has been back in that office since 2012. She was a county legislator from 2003 to 2011.

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Zimet opened by saying she wanted to bring attention to issues facing residents of the district, including the wealth gap, the elimination of the middle class, the “corporatization” of schools, the need for clean elections, campaign finance reform and women’s equality. She said little or no progress has been made on these issues because local activists hit “the brick wall” that she said is Albany.

“We have palaces for the wealthy and cardboard boxes for the poor,” Zimet said. She said that more than 90 years after women won the right to vote, they still earn less then men, there are still staggering statistics of violence against women and government is still interfering with women’s rights to control their own destiny.

“Women need to stop sending men to speak on our behalf,” Zimet said. “We have our own voice and it needs to be heard.”

Cahill, who arrived at the debate while Zimet was making her opening statement, said he would rather be focusing on other issues than running for re-election. He said he believes the party’s energies would be better spent in getting state Sens. Cecilia Tkaczyk, D-Duanesburg, and Terry Gipson, D-Rhinebeck, re-elected, and getting Democratic challenger Sean Eldridge elected in the 19th Congressional District currently represented by U.S. Rep. Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook.

In all the issues Zimet raised, Cahill said, the Assembly has not been the problem in making progress. He said the Assembly has repeatedly passed legislation for women’s equality, marriage equality and legalizing medical marijuana, among other issues. It is the state Senate who has not supported that legislation, Cahill said.

“So, as good Democrats, that’s where our energies ought to be,” Cahill said. “Our energy ought to be getting the job done. And the job is not displacing, distracting those of us who want to help those people get elected.”

Cahill said he has some seniority in the Assembly and pointed to a few of his accomplishments, such as securing money to start the LGBTQ center in Kingston and funding to build a stand-alone medical facility to preserve women’s reproductive health services when Kingston and Benedictine hospitals were merging.

But Zimet said Cahill’s seniority has also worked against people in the district, such as when he blocked another assemblyman from carrying forward legislation that would have authorized the two-year extension of Ulster County’s added 1 percent sales tax.

Cahill had blocked that legislation until the county agreed to take over municipalities’ costs for the Safety Net welfare program.

While the candidates went back and forth on a number of topics, they agreed that domestic violence is unacceptable and more needs to be done to address the issue. They also talked about the different ways in which they have supported the gay community.

The 103rd Assembly District includes the city of Kingston; the Ulster County towns of Shandaken, Woodstock, Kingston, Ulster, Olive, Hurley, Rochester, Marbletown, Rosendale, Esopus, New Paltz, Gardiner and Plattekill; and the Dutchess County towns of Red Hook and Rhinebeck.